Circular Economy in the Brewing Industry

2021 Circular Economy in the Brewing Industry THE HISTORY, PRODUCTION PROCESS OF BEER & HOW CIRCULAR PRINCIPLES CAN BE APPLIED DIRK HOLLAND 0902913 | [email protected] Fout! Gebruik het tabblad Start om Title toe te passen op de tekst die u hier wilt weergeven. - Circular Economy in the Brewing Industry CONTENTS 1. A Brief History of Brewing Page 2 2. Today’s Market for Beer Page 5 3. The Brewing Process Page 6 4. Environmental Impact Page 9 5. Rethinking Through Circularity Page 12 6. Industry Leadership Page 18 7. The Sustainability Drive Page 20 8. References Page 23 This eBook thanks its conception to a combined passion for brewing and sustainability. Concepts that are dealt with in this eBook pertain to the origins of brewing, modern days brewing process and he issues that arise from this. Furthermore, trends that are happening in the industry today are discussed. This includes how breweries can and are using concepts of circular economy to not only serve their own bottom-line, but also improve the ecosystems for people and wildlife who occupy them. 1 Fout! Gebruik het tabblad Start om Title toe te passen op de tekst die u hier wilt weergeven. - Circular Economy in the Brewing Industry 1. A BRIEF HISTORY OF BEER BREWING The emergence of beer can be traced back to beginnings of civilization and urbanisation during the Neolithic period. 1 The earliest chemical evidence of brewing with the use of barley go as far back as 4000 BC, but earlier discoveries are constantly being made by archaeologists. Beer brewing has been part of us for centuries. Its importance striking from scientific advancement, to the daily lives of people, the government, its economy and everyman’s day-to-day life. What beer is today, can’t be compared to what beer was 6000 years ago. At its inception, beer was only a grain-based, fermented beverage.1 The beer we all love, and drink today is a hopped beverage obtained from liquified starch after fermentation with specific strains of yeasts. This sounds a lot more complicated, which it is. Beer, or brewing started from a humble origin. In order to determine where the brewing of beer began, we must first set three prerequisites. Humans have been drinking fermented beverages ever since the Palaeolithic times, however these do not classify as ‘brewing’. This started later on in human development. In 12.500 BC, the warming of our planet caused our last ice age to end. Through the centuries that followed humans began a transition from a nomadic, hunters and gatherers civilization, to stocking up supplies and settling in specific places and allowing larger groups to form ranging from 25 to 50. The earliest civilisations popped up in an area in the Middle East we now know as southern Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine, Israel, Egypt, and parts of Turkey and Iran. Also called the Fertile Crescent, these small communities were possible due to the regular flooding’s of the Euphrates, Tigris and Nile rivers, leaving behind an extremely fertile soil.2 From 5000BC the prerequisites necessary for brewing emerged: (1) the availability of specific grains, (2) a reliable and controllable fire / energy source, (3) pottery strong enough to be brewed in.1 The human race was only able to get to this point by learning from past experiences, experimenting with new applications of tools, continuous exploring and a bit of luck. These early settlements started specifying to their needs, selecting specific animals and plants. The plants included grains such as wheat, einkorn and barley, as they formed a source for carbohydrates and protein. The cultivating of these grains quickly led to the experimentation and the eventual innovation working with grains. It is therefore no surprise that some of the oldest traces of grain-based fermented beverages originate from the Fertile Crescent and Egypt. The oldest evidence of fermented beverages comes from China, in the Henan Province. In a little village called Jiahu, a jar was found containing a mixture of rice, honey and fruit, dating back as early as 7000BC.3 From the start of recorded human existence when we still shared our planet with the mammoth, beer-like beverages have been part of our lives. As civilisations discovered beer-like beverages and the knowledge spread throughout the world, it affected civilisations differently. 1 Franz G. Meussdoerffer, A Comprehensive History of Beer Brewing, (April 2009) 2 National Geographic, ‘Fertile Crescent’, National Geographic, (April 2019) 3 Patrick E. McGovern, Fermented Beverages of Pre- and Proto-Historic China, (December 2004) 2 Fout! Gebruik het tabblad Start om Title toe te passen op de tekst die u hier wilt weergeven. - Circular Economy in the Brewing Industry 3 Fout! Gebruik het tabblad Start om Title toe te passen op de tekst die u hier wilt weergeven. - Circular Economy in the Brewing Industry Mesopotamia and Egypt The first area of the Fertile Crescent to form civilisations and become relatively populous was Mesopotamia, an area we know today as Iraq and Kuwait. The biggest Mesopotamian civilisations were the Sumerian, Assyrian, Akkadian, and Babylonian.4 Ancient Egypt experienced the same increase in civilisation due its intersection with the river Nile. Historic evidence shows that these Mesopotamian and Egyptian societies made extensively use of technology, literature, philosophy, religion, and legal codes. It is from these societies that the development of the first written texts emerged between 3300 – 3100BC.1 These ancient documents already contained information about beer, showing its significance in day-to-day life. There are Mesopotamian documents specifically addressing ingredients that were used in the process. The texts mention ‘bappir’, which translates to beer-bread, ‘munu’ which means a malted cereal, ‘titab’ which is understood as a malted grain mash and talks about the use of a fermented mixture of herbs.5 The importance of beer and other alcoholic beverages were for these ancient civilisations was immense. Alcoholic beverages were used to reach ecstasy and were poured at ceremonial banquets and as a spiritual exercise to try to reach unification with the gods. Beer was seen as a offering to the gods. The Mesopotamians believed beer to be part of the ‘divine’s diet’, as it was for them. Besides ecstasy beer was also used in medicine and religious rituals. Brewing techniques improved drastically during this period of history. During the late Uruk period around 3100BC, there were approximately nine barley produced beers. By the time the new the New Babylonian Empire had come around in 500BC there were up to 70 different types of beer.6 Greeks and Romans Under Alexander the Great’s rule Greece conquered Egypt in 331BC, establishing the Ptolemaic dynasty.7 This brought the introduction of wine along with it, quickly becoming a drink for the upper classes of society. Under the motivation of combatting the overconsumption, beer was taxed regulated by the state for the first time in history. Greek culture had a prejudice against beer. Whether one drank beer or not was seen as the distinction between barbarians and people of culture. Another cultural distinction was that wine was considered a drink of masculinity, while beer was a drink of effeminacy. There was also an underlying reason for the new regulations. The Greeks, and later the Romans too, were avid consumers and traders of wine. Upon discovery that Egypt was mainly a beer-drinking country, the Greeks decided change this as the suppliers of beer mainly consisted out of enemies, among which the Thracians and the Gauls.1 Later on, the Romans took over this same prejudice and feeling of superiority over lower class beer-drinkers. The Romans encountered their own hostile, beer-drinking countries during their expansion in lands we now refer to as Germany and Britain. The irony of the Romans was that during this expansion of conquered land the troops required alcoholic beverages for morale. The regions of Northern Europe in which they 4 Khan Academy, ‘Ancient Mesopotamian Civilizations’, Khan Academy, (January 2020) 5 M. Civil, A Hym To The Beer Goddess and A Drinking Song, (June 1964) 6 P. Damerow, Sumerian Beer: The Origins of Brewing Technology in Ancient Mesopotamia, (January 2012) 7 Khan Academy, ‘The Ptolemaic Dynasty, Khan Academy, (January 2020) 4 Fout! Gebruik het tabblad Start om Title toe te passen op de tekst die u hier wilt weergeven. - Circular Economy in the Brewing Industry were fighting were without viniculture and therefore the Roman leaders required beer for their legions. In order to do so the Romans built breweries, of which the remains can still be found. Celts and Germans The knowledge of grain cultivation reached Northern Europe around 6000BC, after which the emergence of beer came similar to cultures that came before. There was a difference in the production process as the air-drying of soaked cereals would not result malt due to the wetter climate. The Celts developed a method during the malting process referred to as ‘kilning’, where the germinated barley is heated to develop the malty flavours.8 The Celts emerged around 700BC in Central Europe. In the centuries that followed they expanded west to Gaul and Iberia, south to Italy, and eastbound into Greece, Hungary and Turkey. Although the Celts had significant experience when it came to brewing, they obtained far more during these conquests through Europe and beyond. The Celts found that all these countries were producing the same beverage from grain, just calling it differently. What they called ‘zynthos’ in Egypt, was called ‘caelia’ in Spain and ‘cervesia’ in Gaul.1 Between 300BC and 100AD, the Celts power slowly diminished, and they were forced back into Central and North Europe.

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